Campus Life: Penn; Campus Survey Finds Believers In Power of Stars

Published: April 28, 1991

PHILADELPHIA—
While the University of Pennsylvania may aspire to be a stronghold of science and modern skepticism, it still has believers in the powers of stars, planets and the zodiac, a survey by two Penn professors shows.

An emeritus professor of molecular biology, Robert Davies, and a professor of astronomy and astrophysics, Robert Koch, conducted a survey last fall to measure belief in astrology and the power of the occult among members of the Penn community.

Their report, published in the campus journal Almanac, showed that almost 20 percent of the 561 people who answered a questionnaire distributed in two Penn publications last fall -- including secretaries, freshmen and faculty members -- said they generally believed astrological claims.

One-quarter of the respondents said they had "no belief or knowledge" favoring or against astrology, and 59 percent reported some level of disbelief. The Penn sample shows slightly more skepticism than a 1990 Gallup survey, in which 25 percent of the people said they were believers. People in Their 30's

Dr. Davies said the study mirrored his expectations in some cases. People with Ph.D.'s, for instance, were more skeptical than people with only high school diplomas.

But Dr. Davies said he was surprised that almost a third of the survey participants in their 30's said that they believed that the stars affected human behavior. He said this might be either a normal "midlife" belief or it may reflect that these people were brought up in the 1960's.

The 1990 poll follows a project 20 years earlier by two of Dr. Davies's graduate students. But the professors added a new section asking respondents how often they put their astrological belief to use.

"The scientific world has for some time been concerned that the population of America supports more astrologers than astronomers," Dr. Davies said.

But the researchers said they found that very few of the self-professed believers said they had used horoscopes to plan their day. Only two Penn respondents said they consistently planned and acted on their beliefs in astrology, leaving Dr. Davies to suggest that most people consider it entertainment. While he called astrology empty and unscientific, he said it was probably not a threat to academic work.

"The dangerous thing is that some people do plan and act, and some of them get into high places," Dr. Davies said. "One of the sad facts of life is that having a degree does not mean that you cease to believe in things that do not have a base in scientific experience."